Quest Travel Adventures – When
you go on vacation, are you the type of traveler that does all the touristy
things, or do you like to get into the local flavor of things? I am a total
tourist. I have never understood travelers who say that they do not want to do
the touristy things when they go on vacation. I mean really, it was the
touristy things that attracted you to the vacation spot in the first place,
wasn’t it? The touristy things are there, because people who’ve gone on
vacation have found that they enjoy them. As far as hanging out in
“local” spots, do you think that the locals don’t hang out in the “tourist”
spots?

So, when I go on vacation, I
like to do the touristy things. My husband and I went to Ireland last year, and
one of the things at the top of my list was kissing the Blarney Stone. I did
not really know what was involved, but I knew that I wanted to do it. I had not
really ever heard of how it was done, I just knew it was one of those
“touristy” things that I wanted to do.

So we grabbed a car, and
headed across Ireland. That in itself was an experience, but I’ll leave that
for another article. Back to the Blarney Stone. The Blarney Stone, as I’m sure
most of you know, is in Blarney Castle. If I really thought about it, I guess I
would have thought that it was like the Blarney Stone on the side of
Fitzgerald’s in Reno. You know, just a big stone in the side of the building
that you walked up to and kissed. But that is not how it’s done in Ireland.

The Blarney Stone in Ireland
is at the top of Blarney Castle. Blarney Castle itself is awesome! And it’s not
a guided tour, so you can just wander around at will. If you feel like hanging
out in one of the little rooms for an hour or two you are perfectly welcome to
do that. I think that is what I loved about this Castle the most. I have a new
appreciation for the servants of the 1500s, who had to carry food and drink up
and down those tiny little spiral staircases for their masters.

So, you wander around in
Blarney Castle, and you finally make your way to the top. You have an awesome
view from up there. And the land around is so green and pretty, just like you
expect Ireland to be. So after you’re through taking in the view, you realize
that there is a line at one side of the parapet. There are a couple of people
there, one is taking pictures, and the other is holding onto people as they’re
laying down. Now by this point, I knew what was going on because I had heard
talk about how you have to lay down to kiss the Blarney Stone. But I still
wasn’t clear as to exactly how it all worked. So we got in line, and waited for
our turn at the Blarney Stone. I had my own camera, and I wanted to take a
picture of my husband as he was kissing the Blarney Stone. I didn’t get a good
shot. But what I did see, as he laid down to kiss the Blarney Stone, is that
there was an opening between the inner and outer walls of the castle, and that
it was a long way down!

So basically, what you do to
kiss the Blarney Stone, is you lay down on your back, grab hold of some bars
behind your head, and pull yourself down into that opening between the two
walls and kiss the Blarney Stone on the outer wall. The physical aspects of it
really are not that tough, but if you’re afraid of heights and you’re looking
upside down at a drop of 40 feet or so, it can be a big deal. I watched my
husband do it, and I saw that big drop, and I decided no way! My husband tried
to talk me into it, but I was pretty sure I did not want to hang upside down
over 40 feet drop.

And so, we went back down to
the bottom of the castle and exited. While we were at the top, we had seen a
manor house in the distance across the park surrounding Blarney Castle that we
wanted to go check out. As we were walking, we were talking about our
experience in the castle, and how much we had enjoyed it. And I started
thinking, seriously, you’re coming all the way to Ireland, and you’ve been in the
Blarney Castle, and you’re not going to kiss the Blarney Stone? So I said this
to my husband. And he says, you’re absolutely right. And you know what? You
can’t really see the ground when you’re leaning over backwards to kiss the
Blarney Stone. And so, I decided to give it another shot.

We went back into the castle,
and back up to the top. This time, we were the only ones at the top. I walked
over and said that I was now ready to kiss the Blarney Stone. I laid down on my
back, reached behind me and grabbed the bars, and the gentleman helping had a
hold of my shirt to help me ease back to kiss the Blarney Stone. And I don’t
know if you’ve ever noticed, but when you are laying down and leaning over
backwards, your eyes naturally get drawn to where you are headed. Yep, my
husband had totally lied to me. About halfway to the Blarney Stone, my eyes
were drawn like a magnet to the ground 40 feet below me. At this point, I’m
already committed, and so I scoot on back to kiss that Blarney Stone with my
heart in my throat.

So what is the purpose of
kissing the Blarney Stone? Well, it’s supposed to give you the gift of
eloquence and gab. Now my husband pretty much always has this, but I think
kissing the Blarney Stone that day gave him just a little bit extra. Because how
else could he have convinced me that you could not see the ground when you’re
leaning over backwards over a wall? The first thing I did when I stood up off
the ground was double up my fist and and smack him a good one. The photographer
and the helper thought this was just hilarious.

So, that is my tale of kissing
the Blarney Stone. And, I was right, I would have been severely disappointed
had I gone all the way to Ireland and been in the Blarney Castle and not kissed
the Blarney Stone. I had a traumatic 2 seconds, but it was worth it. And, I
have the picture to prove it. Fortunately for me, no one can see the expression
on my face. If you would like to see the picture of me kissing the Blarney
Stone, you can see it on my Adult Travel site, just follow the link below.